The present invention relates generally to wiring systems and, more particularly, to a wire management system that includes a DIN rail elevated above a wire. The DIN rail is designed to pivot to provide access to the wire.
The electrical wiring guilds span a wide variety of applications including electrical substation panels, military vehicles and installations, and manufacturing facilities, to name but a few. For example, referring to FIG. 1, a common electrical substation panel 10 includes a rear panel 11 surrounded by a top panel 12, opposing side walls 14, 16, and a bottom panel 18. As is common in many panel designs, a top wire duct 20 is secured to the top panel 12, opposing side wire ducts 22, 24 are secured to the side walls 14, 16, and a bottom wire duct 26 is secured near the bottom panel 18 above a ground bus bar 28. As such, wires can be routed around the periphery of the entire panel 10 using the ducts 20, 22, 24, 26.
Within the interior of the panel 10, a wide variety of electrical, electro-mechanical, and digital components, generally designated 30, are arranged by being mounted to or in the rear panel 11. These components may, for example, include relays 32, terminal blocks 34, power analysis and communications systems 36, and a wide variety of other components depending upon application, design, and engineering constraints. Larger components, such as power analysis and communications systems 36 or switches (not shown), are typically mounted in cut-outs formed in the rear panel 11. On the other hand, smaller components, such as terminal blocks 34 and smaller relays 32, are often mounted on standardized rails that are secured to the rear panel 11. In particular, the rails are designed to conform to standard arrangements such as maintained by the International Standards Organization (ISO). Of all standard rail configurations maintained by the ISO, one particular rail commonly referred to as a “DIN” rail, which is an acronym for “Deutsches Institut für Normung”, a German standardization body and member of the ISO, is widely, and nearly exclusively, used in such electrical wiring applications. That is, DIN rails 37 are the dominate rail configuration utilized for such electrical wiring applications as are commonly housed in panels 10, and the like.
Between each row of components 30, additional wire ducts 38 are generally mounted transversely across the rear panel 11 to receive wires running to and from the components 30 arranged throughout the rear panel 11. In this regard, the additional wire ducts 38 provide an easily accessible thoroughfare to and from the top wire duct 20, opposing side wire ducts 22, 24, bottom wire duct 26, and ground bus bar 28.
The complexity of wiring these systems is ever increasing as the integration of electrical, electro-mechanical, and digital components 30 become increasingly sophisticated and complex. At the same time, the area within which these components 30 must be integrated and managed is continuously decreasing. For example, in the case of electrical substation panels, two common panel sizes are 40 inches by 60 inches and 40 inches by 40 inches. In panel materials alone, the cost for a 60 inch by 40 inch panel can be nearly 50% more than a panel that is 40 inches by 40 inches. Accordingly, even in applications where there is sufficient room to accommodate a larger panel, customers prefer small panel sizes.
In an effort to reduce the areas needed to fit such components, the transversely extending wire ducts 38 have sometimes been foregone in favor of hand-wrapped bundles of wires. However, these designs are generally undesirable due to the increased wiring/manufacturing costs and difficulty accessing or replacing wired components after the manufacturing process. Accordingly, the use of additional wire ducts 38 has remained standard within numerous manufacturing/wiring industries.
In an attempt to reduce the overall space needed to adequately accommodate the components 30 and associated wire ducts 38, some manufacturers have mounted DIN rails 37 to the wire ducts 38. In particular, the DIN rails 37 have been mounted directly on covers 40 that are snap fitted onto the wire ducts 38. Accordingly, a single wire duct 38 mounted on the rear panel 11 and under the DIN rail 37 can replace the two wire ducts 38 that are typically mounted above and below a DIN rail 37 in a traditional panel design.
While such systems can reduce some of the space required to accommodate components mounted on a DIN rail 37, they suffer from numerous drawbacks. First, in order to access wires within the wire duct 38, the cover 40 must be removed. However, since the components 30 are mounted to the cover 40, the cover 40 is restricted by the associated wires from being entirely removed. Second, as stated, the wire duct covers 40 are typically snap fitted onto the wire ducts 38. In this regard, the weight of components 30 mounted to the cover 40 is often sufficient to detach the cover 40 from the wire duct 38. Accordingly, the components mounted on the detached cover 40 will dangle from the wires leading to or from the components. This may create undesirable, if not unsafe, conditions within the panel 10.
Alternatively, some manufacturers have designed elevated DIN rails that are mounted on u-brackets. In this case, the wires leading to and from the components mounted on the elevated DIN rail may pass under the DIN rail within the space provided by the u-brackets. However, these systems still require significant space between components located above or below the u-brackets in the panel so that wires passing under the DIN rails can be accessed during wiring or field replacements. Furthermore, these systems do not provide any wiring conduit within which to confine the wires running under the u-bracket. As such, tie-wrapped wire bundles are typically required, which add to wiring/manufacturing costs.
Accordingly, some manufacturers have created systems that include enclosed wire passages that are accessible through a hinged top that supports the elevated DIN rail. For example, one such system includes hinges located at an end of the DIN rail. In this regard, one end of the DIN rail can be swung out from the rear panel 11 through the hinge located at the other end of the DIN rail to provide access to the enclosed wire passage located under the DIN rail. However, these systems place significant stress upon the hinge because the weight of the cover, DIN rail, and all components mounted on the DIN rail is applied to a single hinge. Accordingly, it is not uncommon for the hinges in these systems to fail after repeated use. In particular, if the cover and DIN rail are left in the open position for an extended length of time, such as is required during wiring of the panel, the hinge will bend and/or break and require replacement. This leads to significant cost in materials and labor because the components mounted on the DIN rail must be removed along with the wire passage and cover, and then remounted on a new DIN rail, cover, and wire passage assembly. Furthermore, these systems require excessive amounts of slack wire and/or circuitous wiring routes in order to allow the DIN rail to swing through the wide rotational path required to reach the open position without the wires restricting movement of the DIN rail.
In order to reduce the potential for damaging or breaking the hinge and to alleviate the need for excessive slack or convoluted wiring routes, some wiring systems include hinges that run parallel with the wire. For example, one such wiring system includes a DIN rail mounted above an enclosed channel formed by a trapezoidal cover that engages a mounting through a pair of snap-in hinges. However, this design also includes a number of drawbacks. First, the use of snap-in hinges is undesirable in many applications because they merely rely on frictional forces to secure the DIN rail and associated components. In this regard, in electrical panels, where components are typically mounted on a vertically extending panel wall, the weight of the DIN rail and associated components may be sufficient to dislodge one or more of the snap-in hinges. Accordingly, in a manner similar to the above-described cover-mounted DIN rails, undesirable, if not unsafe, conditions may be created by dangling components. Additionally, when wiring components to the elevated DIN rail and attempting to route wires into the wire passage, the wiring process may become particularly arduous. That is, since the wire is enclosed, wires must be individually fed through small slots formed in the trapezoidal cover and then routed through the wire. Furthermore, when mounted on a vertically extending wall or panel, the trapezoidal cover will either snap shut or have a tendency to dislodge from the mounting, depending upon which hinge is opened. In this regard, workers attempting to route wires through the wire must hold the trapezoidal cover in the open position in order to access the wire and feed wires therethrough.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a wire management system that reduces the amount of space needed to accommodate components located within a given area. Furthermore, it would be desirable to have a wire management system that is not prone to accidental disassembly or damage. Additionally, it would be desirable to have a system that provides adequate access to components and wires to accommodate wiring procedures during and after the manufacturing process.